The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has raised significant doubts about the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), asserting that elections conducted via ballot papers would have yielded far better results for the INDIA alliance. The party claims that under a ballot-based voting system, the INDIA bloc could have secured 75 out of the 81 seats in Jharkhand, a notable increase compared to the outcomes observed with EVMs.
This claim was made through a post on the JMM's official social media platform, X, which was also shared by Acting Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The party expressed dissatisfaction with what it described as the “dictatorial rule” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and emphasized the growing public anger in Jharkhand. The post also accused the BJP of ignoring key state issues, including unresolved financial dues amounting to Rs 1.36 lakh crore, which the JMM claims is a significant grievance among the state's citizens.
The JMM-led alliance—comprising Congress, RJD, and CPI(ML)—achieved a historic victory, securing a total of 56 seats. This marked the highest number ever won by an alliance in Jharkhand's 24-year history. Within this coalition, the JMM won 34 seats, Congress 16, RJD 4, and CPI(ML) 2. Despite this success, the JMM, led by Hemant Soren, continues to question the reliability of EVMs.
JMM General Secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya previously raised concerns about potential EVM tampering, citing reports from Haryana elections that suggested suspicious anomalies, such as EVMs maintaining unusually high battery levels for extended periods. Bhattacharya implied that such incidents raise questions about the machines' integrity.
The JMM’s scepticism regarding EVMs echoes the stance of several Congress leaders who have also advocated for a return to ballot papers. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has criticized EVMs as “completely unreliable” and called for their replacement. As part of this push, Kharge announced that Rahul Gandhi would spearhead a nationwide "Ballot Paper Yatra" to campaign for a return to traditional voting methods. The JMM has voiced its support for this initiative, aligning itself with the broader debate on election transparency in India.
Concerns about EVMs are not limited to Jharkhand. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra, which suffered a heavy loss in the November 20 Assembly elections, has joined the demand for a return to ballot paper voting. The MVA, which secured only 48 seats out of 288 in the Maharashtra Assembly, has raised doubts about the fairness of EVM-based elections and is calling for a shift back to the conventional voting system for future polls.
